The present invention relates to a method for playing a card game based on Baccarat or Mini-Baccarat with multiple wager options. The present invention further relates to a method for playing a modified Mini-Baccarat card game with an integrated commission.
The card game Mini-Baccarat is well known, particularly in the casino environment.
Mini-Baccarat is generally played on a Blackjack sized table with up to seven players, wherein the players are able to touch their cards. Mini-Baccarat generally uses eight standard fifty-two card decks. Mini-Baccarat on the other hand uses a standard deck of fifty-two playing cards and is usually dealt from a shoe having multiple decks that have been shuffled together prior to the beginning of play.
This invention relates in general to Mini-Baccarat. The rules for Mini-Baccarat and Baccarat are similar, only a smaller number of cards are used in Baccarat.
The object of the game of Mini-Baccarat is for the bettor to successfully wager on whether the Dealer""s hand or the Player""s hand is going to win. The bettor receives even money for his wager if s/he selects the winning hand and loses his wager if he selects the losing hand. Because of the rules of play of Mini-Baccarat, and more particularly the pre-established draw rules, the Dealer""s hand has a slightly higher chance of winning than does the Player""s hand. The winning frequency for the Dealer""s hand has been determined to be approximately 0.45859 (45.859%) whereas the winning frequency for the Player hand is 0.44624 (44.624%) with the remainder of the outcomes being ties. Therefore, if the bettor wagers on the Dealer""s hand and the Dealer hand wins, the bettor must pay to the gaming establishment a commission (typically, 5%) of the amount the bettor wins. No commission is paid if the bettor successfully wagers on the Player""s hand.
Generally speaking, Mini-Baccarat is played as follows. A multiple number of decks of standard playing cards, 52 in number, are used; typically eight decks are shuffled together and placed in a shoe from which the cards are dealt during the play of the game. Each bettor makes a wager on whether the Dealer""s hand or the Player""s hand will win. After all wagers are made, two cards are dealt from the shoe to the Dealer position and two cards are dealt from the shoe to the Player position on the table layout. The cards are turned face up and the value of the Dealer hand the Player hand is determined, modulo ten.
Aces count one; Kings, Queens, Jacks and Tens count zero and the other cards count their respective face value. The suits (Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs) have no meaning in Mini-Baccarat.
The highest hand value in Mini-Baccarat is nine. All hand values range from a low of zero to a high of nine. If when the cards are added together, the total of the hand exceeds nine, then the hand value is determined modulo ten. For example, a seven and eight total fifteen, but the hand value is five. Any hand having a value that is ten or a multiple of ten is ZERO. For example, an Ace and a nine total ten, but the hand value is zero.
Traditional Mini-Baccarat is played with two cards. A third card is only drawn under these rules in the following circumstances:
Rule #1: If the initial two card Player hand has a point total of 0,1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, the Player hand draws a third card. If the initial two-card Player hand has a point total of 6 or 7, the Player hand stands and does not receive a third card.
Rule #2: If the Player hand stands and does not draw a third card, then the Dealer hand follows Rule #1. In other words, if the Player hand has a point total of 6 or 7, the Dealer hand draws a third card on a point total of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and the Dealer hand stands on a point total of 6 or 7.
Rule #3: If the Player hand draws a third card, the Dealer hand must draw or stand in accordance with rules that are well known.
In particular there is a need for a modified game of Mini-Baccarat that is more exciting to play. In particular there is a need for a modified game of Mini-Baccarat with multiple wager options.
There is also a need for a modified game of Mini-Baccarat that does not employ commissions. Commissions generally discourage play. There is a need therefore for a modified game wherein the return to the House is built into the modified game without commissions.
A first aspect of this invention is a method of playing a modified version of Mini-Baccarat with multiple wager options.
A second aspect of this invention is a gaming surface for playing a modified game of Mini-Baccarat with multiple wager options.